Image of an earlier liberation festival. Photo archive DvhN
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Why do people in Groningen have to pay an entrance fee for the Liberation Festival? Band members of Waterleaf are against and are going to campaign
“Celebrating freedom should not have a price tag,” says singer Margrike Hoornstra (29). “Many people probably have 5 euros in their wallets. But we don’t think it’s appropriate. It’s a matter of principle. The Liberation Festival should be free for everyone.”
Director of the Groningen Foundation Vier 5 Mei Ebel Jan van Dijk announced last month that for the first time an entrance fee has to be paid for the festival on the Drafbaan in Groningen.
For the fifth day of the fifth month, the amount of 5 euros was conceived in this way. It is not the intention to increase that amount in the coming years, but according to Van Dijk, the entrance ticket was indeed a necessity.
Everything that is purchased has become 20 to 30 percent more expensive, according to Van Dijk, who said that the change from a free to a paid festival had been on the table for some time and has been accelerated by the consequences of corona and cost increases. Cutting the production and ‘coming up with a mediocre programming and a poorly secured story’ (according to Van Dijk) was not an option.
Mayor Koen Schuiling recently sent a letter to the Ministry of the Interior requesting a financial contribution. But that letter has not yet been answered, reports spokesman Hans Coenraads.
This article is the product of a collaboration between the editors of Dagblad van het Noorden and Eemsbode
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